The investigation started two days after Malachi's hallway confrontation with Serena, and it was every bit as terrible as I'd been dreading it would be.
I was summoned to Headmaster Aldric's office on a gray Tuesday morning, pulled out of Elemental Studies class by a stern-faced administrator who handed me a formal notice. The walk through the hallways felt endless, and I could hear the whispers following me with every step.
"There she goes. I wonder if they'll expel her."
"My brother said they found proof she bribed someone."
"I heard she used a forbidden spell to alter her test results."
I kept my eyes forward and my face without emotions, even though I wanted to scream at all of them that I hadn't done anything wrong. That was the problem with rumors... they didn't need truth to spread, they just needed people who wanted to believe them.
Professor Corvin was already in the office when I arrived, standing near the window with his arms crossed.
